Thursday was a perfect night for the massive tie scenario as the Rays beat the Red Sox and the Rangers defeated Cleveland. The five way tie remains viable, while all three teams behind Boston gained on the Red Sox, helping the four-way tie quite a bit. The current standings:
| Team | Record | Games Remaining |
|---|---|---|
| Yankees | 90-58 | 14, 7 TBA, 3 BOS |
| Red Sox | 86-63 | 13, 3 TBA, 3 NYA |
| Rangers | 86-64 | 12, 3 LAA |
| Rays | 83-66 | 13, 7 NYA, 3 BOS |
| Angels | 82-67 | 13, 3 TEX |
The most wins possible for a five-way remains at 95, but the Angels need to win all their remaining games to get there:
| Team | Record |
|---|---|
| Yankees | 5-9 |
| Red Sox | 9-4 |
| Rangers | 9-3 |
| Rays | 12-1 |
| Angels | 13-0 |
This also means Texas can only lose to the Angels. The Rays can still sweep both the Yankees and Red Sox (10 games), but if that happens then Boston has to win 2 out of three from New York and win all their other games.
The low end of the tie also remains the same with the fewest number of wins at 91. The Yankees need to play very badly for this to happen.
| Team | Record |
|---|---|
| Yankees | 1-13 |
| Red Sox | 5-8 |
| Rangers | 5-7 |
| Rays | 8-5 |
| Angels | 9-4 |
Tampa Bay and Boston can both sweep the Yankees, while the Rays and Red Sox win two of their three final games against the Rays. Note that a four-way tie between the Red Sox, Rangers, Rays and Angels looks a lot more doable at this point.
For tonight, these would be the best results:
- LAnaheim defeats Baltimore
- New York loses to Toronto
- Tampa Bay beats Boston
- Texas at Seattle is neutral. A win helps the five-way tie, a loss helps the four way tie.
Is a NL Central/Wild Card four-way tie the dark horse in the massive tie race?
Obviously it’s unlikely but Milwaukee, Atlanta, St Louis, and San Francisco could still finish tied. I assume Milwaukee would play St. Louis for the division title and then the remaining three would square off in a playoff.
If that’s not enough, the Brewers and Cardinals split their season series so the host in a one-game playoff would be based on whatever the second tiebreaker is (record without interleague play?).
Theron » One thing that makes this a long shot is that the teams don’t play head to head much. The Brewers are done with the Cardinals, the Giants only play western teams, and the Braves play nine games against the weak teams in the NL East. In the AL, the Rays can bring both the Red Sox and Yankees back to the pack, and the Angels and Rangers play three times. If things go well in the NL tonight, I’ll work up a scenario tomorrow.
Yeah, I figured this weekend would hurt the chances of it happening with the Cardinals in Philly but it’s fun to imagine. Thanks.